Breastfeeding Support Group

I have a HUGE question. I am currently pregnant (35 weeks) with my 3rd baby. This baby I have decided to breast feed. But I wanted to pump instead of latch. I have no clue what to do, how it feels, how it works, how long after the baby is born to start, when to stop or any other "hidden" things that happen that you only know through other women's experiences. Anyone's wise advice and experiences will truely help me! Thanks!

get a goo eletric pump, start right after the baby is born, it wil be uncomfortable, but shouldnt really hurt.. the more you pump, the more milk you will make. You need to be relaxed when your pumping, so the milk will come down, if yoru tense your breasts wont let go of much .. so find a quiet comfortable spot to sit for a while, because i takes about 30 minutes each time. good luck!

Hello,

Be patient. Think of the loving act you are giving to your baby. I brestfed my oldest girl for about 16 months. My second child a son for about 3 years and my baby, a boy, for 3 years. My children are now 23, 20, and 16.

My last child was seven weeks early so I had to pump for about three months because he couldn’t suck. Then I would pump about two months more because he would get tired sucking as we half breast then bottle. At about 4-5 months it was all breast. Starting pumping was hard for me but I did it for him. Get a great pump!!! A must!! At first I pumped every three hours. Froze my milk . I never really could see how much my other children drank so I kept pumping every three hours. I had so much milk that my sister who had twins went back to work and I gave her the extra milk for the twins. Women are amazing. Just have patient s. The first milk is very important to your baby. It will not be much but just keep thinking of your baby. Good Luck!!

Smile more

Just an fyi from experience, exclusive pumping takes A LOT of time. I did that for 2 months before I could get my LO to latch. I had to feed him a bottle, then pump for 20mins., repeat. It was especially difficult at night because I couldn't rock him to sleep. Things have gotten WAY easier for me with breastfeeding.

The easiest thing to do (especially at night) is to have someone feed your LO a bottle WHILE you pump.

Think about investing in the medela freestyle so you won't be stuck to the wall (plugged in). Also, a hands free bra is a MUST-HAVE. You can get on on Amazon.com.

If I had been unable to get him to latch I would have continued to pump exclusively. Choosing to do this instead of formula feeding is hard, but I think it's worth it! Good luck!